Punto di interesse
Succulent collection
Water-storing plants, from cacti to living stones.
Lingua dei contenuti
Succulents store water in specialised tissue called water-storage parenchyma. This is an adaptation to long periods of drought. The Wrocław collection contains more than 1,500 taxa from habitats including deserts, semi-deserts and dry mountain areas in the tropics. Water can be stored in different organs. Cacti and many euphorbias are stem succulents. Agaves, aloes and crassulas store water in their leaves. Root succulents also exist. The specimens show several solutions to the same problem: surviving with a limited water supply.
Some euphorbias resemble cacti despite belonging to different plant groups. This is an example of convergent evolution, the independent development of similar features in distantly related organisms. A similar appearance does not necessarily mean a close relationship. Lithops, known as living stones, show another adaptation. Their appearance resembles the stony ground of their natural habitats, an example of mimicry. The greenhouse collection allows visitors to compare water conservation and storage with the very different feature of blending into the surroundings. Greenhouse visits follow the garden’s seasonal arrangements and may be affected by temporary closures.
Per bambini
Succulents can store water in their bodies. This helps them survive long droughts. Cacti store it in stems, while aloes and agaves use their leaves. Some plants store water in their roots.
The collection includes euphorbias that look like cacti. Looking alike does not mean they are close relatives. Plants from different groups can develop similar ways of coping with drought.
Lithops are called living stones. They look like pebbles in the places where they grow in the wild. Wrocław’s succulent collection contains more than 1,500 species, varieties and other taxa. Access to the greenhouses depends on the garden’s seasonal visiting arrangements.
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